Pentagon to End Gun-Free Zones on Military Bases

On November 18, the Pentagon issued a Defense Department directive that will “allow Department of Defense (D0D) personnel to carry firearms and employ deadly force while performing official duties.”

Secretary of Defense Robert Work approved the directive.

Military.com reports that the directive “also provides detailed guidance to the services for permitting soldiers, sailors, airmen, Marines and Coast Guard personnel to carry privately owned firearms on DoD property.” It authorizes “commanders, 05 and above…[to] grant permission to DoD personnel requesting to carry a privately owned firearm (concealed or open carry) on DoD property for a personal protection purpose not related to performance of an official duty or status.”

The directive also makes clear that DoD will consider further changes to grant “[standard] authorizations for other DoD personnel, who are trained in the scaled use of force or who have been previously qualified to use a government-issued firearm, to carry a firearm in the performance of official duties on DoD property.” This would allow DoD with certain combat training to carry firearms without going through the additional step of making application with a commander.

President-elect Donald Trump ran on removing gun-free zones from military bases. On July 9, 2015, Breitbart News reported that Trump pledged to end the gun-free scenarios for U.S. troops by “[mandating] that soldiers remain armed and on alert at our military bases.”

AWR Hawkins is the Second Amendment columnist for Breitbart News and host of “Bullets with AWR Hawkins,” a Breitbart News podcast. He is also the political analyst for Armed American Radio. Follow him on Twitter: @AWRHawkins. Reach him directly at awrhawkins@breitbart.com.